Sweet Insanity
by Starsabove0oru
Summary: Mimiru is Tsukasa's best friend & she's desperately in love with him. Tsukasa is happy in puppy love with Subaru & is oblivious to Mimiru's pain. Will Tsukasa lose Mimiru forever to her new lifestyle? MimiruTsukasaSubaru, CrimSora, BalmungMimiru
1. Chapter 1

**Hellooooooooooooooo... .hack/sign happens to be one of my favorite video games and in my top five for TV. So I decided to write this fic.**

**Disclaimer: Don't own. There, you happy?**

**Ok. This starts out as one-sided Mimiru/Tsukasa, but contains Tsukasa/Subaru and Crim/Sora. It develops into Mimiru/Balmung and then finally a full Mimiru/Tsukasa. Lotsa luuuuuuurve in this fic. It's rated Teen for cutting, sexual themes, blase, blase, blase. Regular teenager angst and violence. Oh and by the way, if you find any mistakes, please tell me. Thanks.**

**Summary: Mimiru has always been in love with Tsukasa, but allows him to be happy with Subaru. Unfortunately, now she's overly depressed and is beginning to lose herself. Will Tsukasa snap out of his happy stupor and save her? Or will Mimiru's new friends continue to drag her into a world of drugs, music, sex and fame?**

_**CHAPTER ONE:**_

_**OBSCURITY**_

* * *

Mimiru sat underneath the stairs of her high school. It was her favorite hiding place during lunch. There was no point in eating with Tsukasa anymore. He was always with Subaru. She could remember a time when it was just the two of them. Oh, how the times had changed.

Mimiru took a sip from her can of soda and put the can back on the ground. The auditions were tonight. A guitarist, a drummer, and a pianist were in need of a vocalist. Tsukasa had told Mimiru that she had a lovely voice. So Mimiru planned on trying out for them. The auditions were taking place in an abandoned warehouse in the middle of town. Originally, Tsukasa had volunteered to go with her.

"But he has a special date with Subaru!" Mimiru spat out vehemently. I did so much for him… and this is how he repays me? Then, after thinking that, Mimiru felt extremely guilty. I'm so selfish sometimes…

Tsukasa and Mimiru had known each other since they were eight years old. Tsukasa had been the new kid in their elementary school and all the other boys had picked on him. They all thought Tsukasa had looked weird: with his short, unkempt silver hair and sad purple eyes.

Mimiru had been the first child to befriend Tsukasa. The two formed an instant friendship and the bullies quickly left Tsukasa alone, because no one wanted to face the wrath of Mimiru.

A year later, the two were the best of friends, but for some odd reason, Tsukasa never let Mimiru go to his house. One day Mimiru blew up and refused to speak to Tsukasa, unless he gave her a good reason why. Tsukasa reluctantly informed her that his father abused him and made her promise not to tell a soul.

Of course, that was a promise Mimiru could not keep. She told her gym teacher, named Bear, that Tsukasa couldn't play with them because his father beat him up too much. Bear had instantly contacted the police.

Tsukasa had refused to speak to Mimiru for a week afterwards. Tsukasa's father lost custody of him and Bear had adopted him. Gradually, Tsukasa began to appreciate Mimiru's decision. The two quickly picked up where they left off on their friendship, growing even closer, if possible.

The best part was that Bear had moved Tsukasa into his new house, which happened to be right next door to Mimiru's house. The two friends had been ecstatic. They were constantly over each other's houses and Mimiru even came with Tsukasa when he had his sessions with the local child psychiatrist.

Years passed and the two were in paradise, completely happy. Then, in their first year of high school, a new student came to their class. As soon as Tsukasa had seen Subaru, he blushed. Mimiru had taken it up on herself to set the two of them up, not realizing what a mistake it was at the time.

Since Subaru was probably the smartest girl in their grade, Mimiru had decided to use this to her advantage. She had invited Subaru over her house to help her with homework. Then she had told Subaru that she had accidentally "left" one of her notebooks with Tsukasa.

So the two girls traveled to Tsukasa's house. Boy had he been surprised when he opened the door! The three eventually ended up back at Mimiru's house. Mimiru had to play cupid for the next two month. It took that long to get them to go on a date alone.

But then… the dates started getting more frequent and Mimiru began to see less of Tsukasa outside of school. Mimiru began to feel alone and depressed. Tsukasa on the other hand, was much happier. Mimiru began to feel inadequate and lifeless. Tsukasa began to feel more confident about himself and began living more actively. Mimiru became masochistic. Tsukasa began to indulge himself.

Over two years, Mimiru and Tsukasa basically switched personalities. And the worst part was, Tsukasa didn't even seem to notice. He didn't notice that Mimiru began borrowing more of Tsukasa's dark and bleak clothing. He didn't notice that she began to borrow more of his depressing music. He didn't notice the scars on her arms. He didn't notice any of it and that hurt Mimiru the most. He seemed to be too wrapped up in his own happiness to care about anything else.

"But… doesn't he deserve it?" Mimiru asked herself out loud. Sure, he deserved it. But did Mimiru deserve this neglect? For how long had she stayed with Tsukasa, healing his wounds, soothing him, stopping him from cutting himself… And now when she needed Tsukasa the most…

I hate Tsukasa. I hate him being everything that I'm not. I hate him for being my exact opposite. I hate him for making me fall in love with him. I hate him for being so oblivious to my feelings for him. I hate that "opposites attract". I hate that everyone lies to me. Opposites don't attract, because if they did, Tsukasa and I would be together. But he's not with me.

He's with Subaru… Always with Subaru, always smiling and talking with Subaru, always holding hands and blushing with Subaru… I HATE THEM BOTH! They should die… but even death won't separate them… They're a match made in heaven and there's nothing I can do about it.

I can't do anything for Tsukasa anymore… Subaru does everything I used to do for him… It's almost like… she filled in the slots for girlfriend and best friend… He probably wouldn't care if I died right in front of him… Why would he? I'm obviously worthless…

Mimiru could feel tears forming in her eyes and angrily wiped them away. Each time Mimiru had thought the words "I hate", she cut herself. Eight new slashes were on her left arm. She watched the blood drip on the floor in fascination. She finished her soda and the open bag of candy she had.

Mimiru stood up and left, leaving the can, the bag, and the bloody scissors behind. She quickly ran to the bathroom, clutching her arm tightly. Mimiru rapidly scrubbed her arm with a wet paper towel and then held it in place, apply pressure to her open cuts.

Mimiru heard a toilet flush and a door open, but completely disregarded it. Then she heard the shocked, but soft gasp that could only belong to one vile person. "Subaru, what do you want now?" She whirled around furiously, still grasping her arm. God… now she's going to act all concerned… I'm not in the mood for her patronizing voice… Why can't she just die and go to heaven already? Since that's where she clearly belongs, since she's so perfect!

Subaru stood there, staring at Mimiru's arm as if it was alive. Rolling her eyes, Mimiru rolled down her sleeve, concealing the cuts. "Mimiru… Why? Why would you this to yourself?" Subaru's worried amber-colored eyes stared into Mimiru's uninterested blue-green ones.

Mimiru ran a hand through her disheveled, brown hair. She responded by stalking out of the bathroom and almost crashed into someone. And of course, it was Subaru's knight in shining armor, who loved her so much that he couldn't even let her walk to the bathroom alone.

"Mimiru!" Tsukasa smiled softly. "How are you?"

"You would know, if you bothered to spend time with me anymore." Mimiru sauntered right past him without another word. She had more things to worry about. Like her audition, for instance.

The rest of the school day went by agonizingly slow. It was finally the last class of the day: Literature. This was the only class that Subaru didn't have with Tsukasa. Mimiru was surprised that Subaru didn't transfer in the class.

Mimiru was staring out the window, pondering the song she was going to sing for the audition. When she finally broke her gaze to turn to the next page in her textbook, she found that there was a note on her desk. Already knowing who it was from, Mimiru opened the note, feeling slightly annoyed, but yet slightly happy.

Mimiru,

I hope you're not too mad that I'm missing your audition tonight. I'm really sorry, but it's the night of my two-year anniversary with Subaru and I had planned this for days. I'll make it up to you, I promise. Tomorrow, we can go to the mall if you'd like. Or we can go to that new museum that just opened up downtown.

Tsukasa

Mimiru turned the note over and scribbled on it: Don't bother. I just need to quickly come over your place to borrow some clothes and music for my audition. She quickly passed the note to the person next to her.

"Mimiru!" Their Literature teacher, BT had snapped sharply. "I'm going to disregard your note, if you'll come up here and read the poem you were supposed to write for homework yesterday. I hope you're prepared."

As if! If I'm going to be a singer, I need to learn how to write lyrics! This is my chance to prove I can do it! Mimiru looked through her folder until she found the folded paper inside. She strode up the front of the classroom and sat right on BT's desk. She knew the blonde was probably livid at this point, but she didn't care. Mimiru took a deep breath and began to read the poem she wrote at lunch:

"Dear Sweet November,

Why must you be so cold?

Dear Sweet November,

Why must you always scold?

Dear Sweet November,

Why did you hurt me so?

Dear Sweet November,

Why did you ever go?"

Mimiru finished abruptly and stared out at the class, already bored again. The class erupted in cheers and she gradually grinned. "Was that good enough for you?" Mimiru turned around, smirking at the blonde sitting behind the desk.

"Better than I expected. You even tied it in with the beginning of the month." BT said sarcastically, but there was a proud smile on her face. True, it was the beginning of November. "You may sit."

Mimiru went back to her seat and the rest of the class went smoothly. Before she knew it, Mimiru was at home. Her mother had the day off, so she was probably at the library. Her eight-year-old brother, Motoki? Probably off somewhere playing soccer. Her father was still hard at work at the hospital.

Mimiru quickly did most of her homework. She had to complete a few problems for math, write another poem, and write up a lap report for chemistry. A little over an hour later, Mimiru was finally done.

It was almost five o'clock. The auditions started at six sharp. Mimiru decided to head over to Tsukasa's house to get her supplies. She went out the side door of her house and ran over to Tsukasa's. Since she had her own key, she let herself in.

"Bear! Tsukasa! I'm here!" Mimiru shouted, taking off her shoes. She bounded into the living room and spotted Bear sitting in his favorite reclining chair, reading the paper.

"Hello, Mimiru. Tsukasa is upstairs, getting ready for his big night." Bear grinned up at Mimiru. "I just bought some cookies today."

"Great! I'll take some on my way out!" Bear had become something of a second father to Mimiru. She leapt up the stairs and burst into Tsukasa's room. The boy was sitting at his desk, writing something.

"Tsukasa, I need an outfit for my audition tonight!" For some odd reason, she was in a good mood now. Tsukasa turned around and grinned, pointing to his bed. Mimiru sauntered over to it and saw the outfit that Tsukasa had laid out for her. Her eyes widened in astonishment. Those definitely weren't his clothes!

"Tsukasa… you bought these for me?" Mimiru turned to Tsukasa, slowly grinning. I can't believe he did that… it's been so long since I got a gift from him…

"Of course." Tsukasa stood up. "Go try them on in the bathroom." Mimiru nodded quickly, grabbed the clothes, and ran to the bathroom. She quickly tore off her clothes and put on the new ones.

Mimiru looked at herself in the mirror. She was now wearing a black T-shirt and a rather short black skirt. The T-shirt had a silver heart in the middle and it was outlined in blood red. The skirt had black and white pattered patches all over it. The skirt had a zipped pocket in it and when Mimiru opened it, she pulled out a beautiful necklace.

The necklace had a silver chain and a blue-green opal was attached to it. She quickly put it on, admiring her new look in the mirror. Mimiru dashed out of the bathroom and ran into Tsukasa's room.

Mimiru grabbed Tsukasa in a tight hug. "Thank you so much!" Mimiru squealed happily. "You're the best!"

"You're welcome…" Tsukasa put his hands on her back. "Good luck at your audition tonight. I'm sure you'll do fine." Mimiru excitedly broke away from Tsukasa and ran downstairs to show Bear.

"How do I look, Bear?" Mimiru twirled around cheerfully.

"Beautiful." Bear hugged her tightly. "Do your parents know about this audition of yours?" The smile vanished from Mimiru's face. "Very well, I thought so. I'll keep it a secret, but if you make it, you have to tell him. Understood?"

"In that case, I'm done for! Cause I definitely made it!" Mimiru shouted confidently. "TSUKASA! I'M GONNA GO NOW!" She bellowed loudly. "SEE YOU ON MONDAY!"

Bear shook his head at Mimiru and sat back down. "You'll do fine, Mimiru. Go break a leg." He tousled her brown hair and kissed her on the forehead. "Now go take those cookies for good luck."

"Of course." Mimiru ran to the kitchen and grabbed a handful of cookies. She let herself out the screen door and dashed all the way back to her house. Mimiru ran upstairs and into the bathroom, only to find her brother washing his hands. "Hurry up! I need to take a shower!"

"Where are you going?" Motoki blinked at her, confused. "If Mom sees you wearing that, she'll kill you."

"You'd better not tell her." Mimiru snapped warningly. Motoki rolled his eyes and it was clear that he had no intention of telling their mother.

"You'd better hurry up. She gets home in a half hour." Motoki told her, drying his hands with a towel. "I know, I know. I'll cover for you."

"Love you!" Mimiru shoved Motoki out the door and took off her clothes. Twenty minutes later, Mimiru was dressed, bathed, and ready. She took a small backpack out of her closet, snuck outside, and ran to the bus stop.

Ten stops later, Mimiru was finally at her destination. She found herself in the dark, gloomy part of her town. The streets were bleak and empty. The warehouse loomed before her and she wondered if she came to the wrong place.

Then she saw a red-haired boy wearing an outrageous outfit walk past her. Mimiru followed him into the warehouse and was amazed by what she saw. There was a huge stage, a bunch of seats, a few vending machines, and a desk far to the left. There was a small line in front of the desk.

Mimiru waited in line for about fifteen minutes. The man sitting behind the desk had long, spiked up blue hair and he had part of it in a thin ponytail.

Mimiru finally reached the man sitting "My name is Mimiru." She smirked down at the man, who was wearing an odd red outfit. "I'm fifteen years old and I'm singing a song called 'Fly Me to the Moon' by Frank Sinatra."

"Great song." The man grinned up at her, writing all the information down. "You obviously know what you're doing. I like that. I usually have to ask all the questions. My name is Crim." He handed her a slip of paper with a number on it.

"Nice to meet you, Crim. What instrument do you play?" Mimiru asked casually. Might as well get to know him…

"I play the guitar." Crim looked behind Mimiru. "The line just got a lot longer, so I'm afraid I must cut our conversation short. See you later."

"Bye!" Mimiru took off towards the vending machines. She took her money out of her bag and purchased some chips and a soda. She then joined the other participators who were sitting down.

Mimiru quickly ate the cookies, her chips, and gulped down her soda. I'm number twenty. And it looks like there's about fifty more people who still have to get signed up. More and more keep showing up… I hope I don't have to sit through all their auditions, too. I wonder what excuse Motoki is making up for me…

Mimiru waited impatiently, looking around for a clock. She must have dozed off, because when she woke up, the first thing she heard was singing. Bad singing, to be exact. A brunette was standing up on the stage, belting out an Evanescence song and completely ruining it.

Mimiru noticed that now all the seats were filled. She poked the person sitting next to her. "What number is she?" She whispered.

"Eighteen." The man hissed back.

Mimiru's eyes widened. I almost slept through my own audition! How could I do such a thing? She was determined not to let this stop her. But then again… she did wake up just in time. It must've been destiny!

Feeling slightly nervous, Mimiru stood up and crept by the stage where another singer was waiting. "I never thought I'd see someone come near the stage when someone like her is singing up there." The singer grinned politely at her.

"Funny thing is, she woke me up." And the two shared a nervous laugh.

Finally, the brunette was finished! She leapt off the stage as if she owned it and seemed to ignore the fact that no one clapped for her. The singer in front of Mimiru handed his slip of paper to a woman wearing all black. He quickly ran up the steps and took the microphone, explaining a bit about himself.

The singer sang "Existentialism on Prom Night" and he sang it well. Mimiru's mouth dropped open. He's really good… what if he makes it instead of me? And I bet he has more support than I do… Tsukasa isn't even here to cheer me on… He's with Subaru!

Finally, the boy finished singing. The entire audience applauded him. Some people even stood up and clapped. The boy excitedly jumped off the stage and ran away. The female in black gestured to Mimiru and she nervously gave her the piece of paper. "Go ahead." The woman gave Mimiru a little push.

Mimiru ran up the steps and slowly walked to the middle of the stage. She looked at her five judges. Her mouth dropped open. "Miss BT? What are you doing here?" Why on Earth was her Literature teacher a judge for a band? This made absolutely no sense… She gripped the microphone nervously.

"Nice to see you also, Mimiru." BT smirked up at Mimiru. "I had no idea you could sing. Just to let you knuckleheads know, she happens to be an excellent writer." Mimiru blushed at this compliment.

Mimiru studied her other judges. Sitting next to BT was a green-haired, dark-eyed man with a sneering sort of look on his face. Next to that man was Crim, who winked at Mimiru. But the man sitting next to Crim caught her eye the most. He had short, messy white hair and piercing green eyes. There was a black-haired, gray-eyed girl sitting next to BT. She smiled politely at Mimiru.

"What song are you singing, Mimiru?" Crim asked causally.

"'Fly Me to the Moon'." Mimiru answered immediately.

"Well, start already!" The green-haired man snapped and BT hit him in the head. "Don't start with me!" Mimiru cleared her throat and began to sing:

**"Fly me to the moon**

**Let me play among the stars**

**Let me see what spring is like**

**On Jupiter and Mars**

**In other words, hold my hand**

**In other words, baby, kiss me**

**Fill my heart with song**

**Let me sing forevermore**

**You are all I long for**

**All I worship and adore**

**In other words, please be true**

**In other words, I love you…"**

Mimiru let out a deep breath. She had given it her all, pushed away all her nervousness. She didn't need Tsukasa to cheer her on. She didn't need anyone. Then she heard the applauding. BT stood up and clapped as well.

"Now then, Mimiru. You'd better get home quickly. I hope your parents know you're out this late. Consider yourself lucky it's not a school night." BT crossed her arms over her chest. "Do you need a ride?"

Uh-oh… I didn't bring any money for the bus ride home… Are there even any buses running at this hour? What time is it anyway? Mimiru blinked blankly. "Yes, that'd be great!" Mimiru grinned widely and bowed, running off the stage. Mimiru found an empty seat in the back and it didn't take her long to fall asleep again. It was the first peaceful sleep Mimiru had in a long time…

"Mimiru. Mimiru." Someone was whispering in her ear. Mimiru's eyes fluttered open and she looked around, confused. Why was she sleeping in a chair? And why was her teacher there?

"Miss… BT?" Mimiru sat up, shaking her head. "What time is it?"

"Almost eleven." BT said calmly.

"W-what?" Mimiru was fully awake now. "My parents are going to kill me!" All the other singers were left and someone was putting the chairs back. Someone else was picking up garbage.

"Well, you should have thought about that before you came here." BT pointed out, shrugging. "Now come on, we're driving you home."

"We?" Mimiru repeated, putting on her backpack.

BT didn't reply at she led Mimiru to her black SUV outside. There were loud noises coming from the inside. BT opened up the driver's door. "What are you doing in there, knuckleheads?" The blonde snapped. "Mimiru, get in the seat behind me." Mimiru meekly obeyed, opening the door and sitting down.

Now the SUV was full. The white-haired judge was sitting in the passenger's seat. Crim was sitting behind the white-haired man and the green-haired man was sitting directly next to Mimiru. The black-haired girl was sitting in the trunk. Mimiru gave her a puzzling look.

"Don't worry. She likes it back there." Crim gave her a kind smile. "She'd rather sit back there than next to Sora." Crim hit the green-haired man in the arm.

"Oh, you're so strong! Oh, by the way. I happen to be Sora." The green-haired man, Sora flashed her a brilliant grin. "I must say, you are gorgeous." Mimiru responded by pulling on one of his very large bangs. Crim burst out laughing and the white-haired man smirked. "What are you looking at, Balmung?" So that's his name… he's cute! Mimiru smiled at the white-haired man.

"Hands off, Sora. She's still in high school." BT snapped, turning her car on. She began driving rapidly.

"Are you insane? What kind of teacher drives this fast?" Mimiru shouted at the top of her lungs. She turned around, feeling sorry for the girl sitting in the trunk. After all, it was Mimiru's fault. But then… all feelings of remorse were replaced with confusion.

The girl had the largest grin on her face as her entire body was thrown every which way, no thanks to BT's driving. She was even laughing at some points. Her wild gray eyes caught Mimiru's and the girl smiled even wider.

"Don't mind Faith." Crim shook his head. "She thinks everything is a game. She sits in the trunk every time BT drives, because she enjoys rolling around…"

"Okay…" Mimiru blinked, not sure what to say. So BT is an insane driver, Sora is a pedophile, Crim is way too laid back, Faith is a hyperactive psychopath, and Balmung seems to be just as antisocial as Tsukasa. Remembering Tsukasa, brought a look of pain onto her face.

"Mimiru, what's wrong?" A kind voice asked from behind. It was Faith.

She noticed? She's smarter than she lets on… Mimiru shook her head sadly. "I'm fine thank y-" She broke off as BT made a sharp turn and everyone was thrown to the left. Mimiru was squished. Faith was squealing like a happy baby.

"BT, you're so much fun! I love it when you drive!" Faith shouted joyfully as BT turned onto Mimiru's road.

"How do you know where I live?" Mimiru asked suspiciously.

"I'm a teacher, Mimiru." BT said dryly. "Now, what do you plan on telling your parents?"

"I don't know." Mimiru shrugged. "I'll just crash at Tsukasa's." She took the spare key to Tsukasa's house out. "Drive past the house with the blue car." BT obeyed, giving Mimiru an odd look through the mirror. "Thanks! You drove so fast, I didn't even realize how close I was to home!"

"So wait. Tsukasa lives right next door to you?" Faith asked incredulously. "And you have the key to his house? Wow, that's weird. Isn't he that kid that got adopted by his gym teacher a couple years back?"

"Yeah, that's him." Mimiru unlocked the door, wanting to get off the subject of Tsukasa. "Thanks a bunch!" She shot out the car and ran through Tsukasa's lawn, finally reaching his front door. She quietly opened the door and stole in. As she turned around to close and lock the door, she realized that BT had waited until she was inside the house.

The black SUV turned around and drove off. Mimiru smiled as she locked the door. The house was silent and dark, so she figured that both Bear and Tsukasa were sleeping. She crept in the kitchen to grab a bite to eat.

Mimiru poured herself a glass of juice and put some chicken and rice in the microwave to heat up. After eating her late dinner, Mimiru was finally ready to get some shuteye. She was too lazy to go to the guest room upstairs, so she decided to crash on the couch.

As she was falling asleep, Mimiru pondered the events of the day: Subaru seeing her arm, Tsukasa buying her the clothes and the necklace, finding out that BT was involved with a band, and being applauded for singing. It had been a good day. Even though Tsukasa didn't still love her. Mimiru closed her eyes softly.

**Woot Woot! First chappie... FINITO! Please review!**

**Next time... Mimiru and Tsukasa spend some quality time together... but of course... something goes wrong!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Umm... ok. Chapter Two of Sweet Insanity. Right here. Sorry it took so long. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anybody in this fic except for Faith. She's all mine! **

**To Lady-Azura**- I'm glad you were my first reviewer, too. You certainly are enthustiastic lol. I had to pair Mimiru with someone. Since their personalities will clash, it'll be funny.

**To TheWall267**- Yes, I usually make my chapters average about ten pages. It's a habit lol.

**To lexyV105**- That actually is a good idea. Definitely a consideration.

**To Master White Fox**- Thanks! I used to think that Tsukasa belonged with Subaru... but for some reason I can't stand her now. And plus, I have more in common with Mimiru anyway.

**To InuKagNoMoreDreams**- Naw, Subaru is going to keep it a secret for now.

**To kaitou angel**- Madame capitan is happy that I'm added to your list lol.

**To Lonely Athrun Zala**- No, I don't mind the language. Personally, I think it shows energy.

_**CHAPTER TWO:**_

_**ASSURED RESOLUTION**_

The first thing Mimiru saw when she woke up was Tsukasa. He was kneeling down next to her with a curious expression on his face. "Your parents are really worried about you." He said softly. "Bear came downstairs to get his midnight snack and found you sleeping on the couch. He told your parents where you were, but he kept your secret. That was irresponsible, Mimiru."

"Yeah, so what?" Mimiru quickly sat up, ignoring the fact that her hair must've looked ridiculous. She had always wanted to wake up near Tsukasa, but not if he acted like that. "I'll deal with it later."

"Your Mother wants you to come home right away. Your father took Motoki to his soccer game so you'll be alone with her." Tsukasa gave Mimiru a sympathetic smile. They both knew what that meant.

"Just great! I wonder what Motoki told her I was doing…" Mimiru stretched and stood up. Bear came downstairs, frowning at her. _What now?_

"He told them you were going to the mall and then to the movies. He even showed your parents your homework and told them you'd be back late." Bear sat down in his chair. "Mimiru, I didn't know you planned on staying out that late."

"I didn't… I just didn't have any way of getting home. So one of the judges offered me a ride. I had to wait until all the other singers were done." Mimiru shrugged, glaring at Tsukasa.

"She's right… at first I told Mimiru I would go with her… but then I found out it was the same day of my anniversary with Subaru." Tsukasa sighed. "I was worried last night, though. You had to ride a public bus all by yourself and-"

"Don't you dare pretend to be concerned!" Mimiru shouted angrily. "If you really cared, you would have been there!"

"Mimiru… I said I was sorry." Tsukasa really did look sorry, but that made Mimiru even angrier. Bear sighed and shook his head.

"Mimiru, just how far was this audition of yours?" Bear frowned.

"Ten bus stops away, near the outskirts." Mimiru looked up at Bear. A look of shock covered his face. "What now?"

"Mimiru!" Bear walked forward and grabbed Mimiru by the shoulders. "The outskirts are dangerous, you know that! All kinds of things go on at night there! You know the outskirts are known for-"

"Well, if Tsukasa wasn't with Subaru all the time, maybe I wouldn't have had to go alone!" Mimiru broke away from Bear and ran out of the house. She could feel tears forming in her eyes as she sunk to the front steps of Tsukasa's house. Why did this have to happen to her?

_Bear's right… if I had been in the wrong place at the wrong time, I could've been raped or kidnapped or killed… Does Tsukasa want me to die or something? Am I that worthless? Maybe I should just die… So that way… I won't have to cry anymore. Tsukasa won't have to "worry" about me anymore… And Motoki won't have to keep lying for me… I'm destroying my own little brother. _

Mimiru stared curiously at her left arm. Her fingers slowly trailed over the cuts. Hearing a door open, she quickly turned around. Tsukasa. He sat down next to her and neither of them said anything for a while.

"Do you have any plans for today?" Tsukasa asked tentatively.

"What do you think?" Mimiru shot back.

"Then spend the day with me." Tsukasa was obviously used to her snappy replies by now. "We'll go wherever you want, okay?"

"Why should I? Don't you have anything better to do?" Mimiru snapped.

"Well, Bear is talking on the phone with your mother right now. I have a feeling you're going to get off easier than you think." Tsukasa smiled at her gently. "Bear told your mother that you got back late, so you were too tired to go home and you came here instead."

"He knows me too well…" Mimiru rolled her eyes, but she was appreciative of Bear's efforts to keep her out of trouble.

"MIMIRU!" A loud, annoyed voice came from not too far. "GET IN HERE NOW!" Mimiru stood up and stomped off to her house reluctantly.

As soon as Mimiru stepped in the door, she was greeted with shouting. "Do you have any idea how worried I was about you? You couldn't wait for me to come home? And what on Earth are you wearing? Get out of those clothes right now! You look like a devil-worshipping prostitute!" Her mother shouted, slamming the door behind Mimiru.

Mimiru's face burned, but she ignored her mother as she climbed up the steps and went into her room. She quickly changed out of her new clothes, but kept the necklace on. "Where did you get them anyway? And who were you with yesterday?" Her mother had stormed up the stairs and was now standing in the middle of Mimiru's room.

"Tsukasa bought them for me." Mimiru said exhaustedly. Judging by the look on her mother's face, she believed her. "Some girls invited me to go to the movies with them. And the movie theatre's inside the mall; you know that. So we shopped around for a bit."

"And what did you buy?" Her mother obviously didn't believe her now.

"I left them… at my friend's house. Because I knew you wouldn't like what I bought." Mimiru refused to meet her mother's eyes.

"I can't believe you have Motoi lying for you." Her mother shook her head. "You're corrupting your little brother, Mimiru. I hope you're proud of yourself. I don't think I want to know what the truth is… Just stay away from me until I can figure out how to punish you." And with that, her mother left. Mimiru rolled her eyes, but then her stomach growled. She looked at her clock. It was a bit after noon. Hopefully her mother wasn't in the kitchen…

About two hours later, Mimiru was still inside her house and she was completely bored. Then the phone rang. "IT'S TSUKASA!" Her mother bellowed from across the hall.

Mimiru halfheartedly picked up the phone. "Yeah?" She said in a bored tone. _He's not going to leave me alone about this is he… I'm sure Mother Dearest won't mind if I spend some time with prudent Tsukasa. Why does he seem to be so interested in spending time with me now? Did Subaru tell him… Oh no!_

"Did you change your mind?" Tsukasa asked softly.

"Yeah, sure. Whatever. We're doing _whatever_ I want, right?" Mimiru rolled her eyes. But she was happy to finally get some alone time with Tsukasa. But wait… what if she was… "Is Subaru coming, too?"

"No. Her uncle just adopted a child and she went to visit him. She won't be back until late Sunday afternoon." Tsukasa sighed on the other end. "She only went because I told her I had plans with you."

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" Mimiru snapped.

"Well… Subaru didn't want me to be alone this weekend." Tsukasa said carefully. "She worries about me a lot."

_Great… make me sound like the defective "best friend" who doesn't worry about Tsukasa night and day!_ "That's ridiculous! You're not a baby!" Mimiru snarled.

"I know, I know. But she doesn't want me to start cutting myself again for stupid reasons." Tsukasa spoke silently.

"Why _would_ you? I'm the one that helped you in the first place!" Mimiru was so mad, she almost hung the phone up.

"I told her that, but she still worries about me…" Tsukasa trailed off. "Well, whenever you're ready, come to my place, alright? See you later."

_Subaru… I can't stand her! Who does she think she is? Does she think I'm not capable of helping Tsukasa? And why would he feel lonely anyway? I wouldn't be surprised if he had her uncle's cell number! He probably even gave Subaru **my** number! I can't stand this! I really… I really hope I made it into that band. Because I need to get away from all this…_

Mimiru was fuming mad. But she knew she had to put on a calm face, in order to see her mother. She crept into her mother's room and saw her mother sitting on her bed, staring at a picture of the family.

"I was just wondering… how wonderful everything used to be…" Her mother looked up at Mimiru and she had tears in her eyes. "Your father and I had a beautiful marriage and beautiful, innocent children. Now your father… he's growing distant… and you… now you're going places and not telling me… Is Motoki going to start on me, too?" Mimiru was surprised.

"Mom… I promise I'll tell you when the time is right." Mimiru smiled softly, putting her arms around her mother. "I'm sorry I worried you. And Dad… he's probably just has extra stress on him. More people get sick when it's cold, Ma. We're here for each other and that's what matters."

"Oh, thank you, love." Her mother kissed Mimiru on the head. "And yes, you may go with Tsukasa. It's been such a long time since you spent time together. I'm sure you're looking forward to it. But be careful!"

Mimiru gratefully kissed her mother and ran back to her room. She grabbed her backpack and put her new clothes in it, along with her wallet, and a pack of gummy bears. She ran out the door, almost running over Motoki and her father.

"Just wait a minute!" Her father grabbed her arm. "Where are you going?"

"I'm spending the rest of the day with Tsukasa. Mom already said it was okay." Mimiru's eyes widened in astonishment. Her mother probably wanted to talk to her father alone. _That's why she let me go so easily…_ "Hey, Motoki? Why don't you head to a friend's house to play video games?"

"I am…" Motoki gave her an odd look. Mimiru gave Motoki a quick hug and spun out the door, racing to Tsukasa's house. The door opened even before she got there. Tsukasa had to move out of the way as Mimiru sprinted inside and headed to the downstairs bathroom.

Moments later, Mimiru came out wearing her new outfit. "There!" She announced herself as she strolled into the living room. "Where's Bear?"

"A whole block, including the school where Bear works had an odd blackout last night. He went with other adults to investigate." Tsukasa grabbed his house keys off the couch in the living room. "So… where are we going first?"

"How about the mall? And then the movies?" Mimiru smirked. Tsukasa gave her a knowing smile and they left his house. The duo walked to the same bus stop Mimiru was at the previous night.

Mimiru and Tsukasa stayed on the bus for four stops and then got off. The mall was about two blocks away. "If we're going to do everything I want, then you're paying for everything, got it?" Mimiru said as they entered the mall.

"Of course." Tsukasa smiled softly at Mimiru and her heart melted.

Tsukasa and Mimiru spent four hours at the mall. The first two hours were spent shopping, eating, playing at the arcade, and reading in the bookstore. The last two hours were spent watching a hilarious movie about robots and eating all kinds of junk food. Mimiru smiled all the way back on the bus ride.

By this time, it was already pitch-black dark outside. _Why can't we spend time like this together forever?_ Mimiru smiled sadly as the bus passed a school.

"Mimiru…" Tsukasa seemed to notice her change in mood. "I hope you can forgive me. I know I've been a bad friend lately…"

"That's just it, Tsukasa! You're supposed to be my _best_ friend! But you don't even know how to balance your time so you can spend time with the both of us!" Mimiru snapped out, her good mood down the tubes. "And it took you two years to realize it…" _Oh great. Now I'm going to start crying again. I'm such a weakling…_

Tsukasa did something Mimiru would never expect him to do, he put his arms around her waist and pulled her close. Mimiru's heart began to beat faster. He slowly rubbed her back and Mimiru felt as if his hand took all her problems away. She actually felt quite drowsy. She let her head fall on Tsukasa's chest and she closed her eyes. _This feels… kind of nice… I wish Subaru were gone all the time… But she'll probably never leave again… She loves him too much…_

"Mimiru, I'm a failure as a best friend. I failed to set my priorities straight. I should have been able to make time for you and Subaru." Tsukasa sighed and ran his fingers through his silver hair. "Mimiru… up until I went out with Subaru, you were the only girl in my life. I suppose I thought of you as my best friend _and_ my girlfriend without even realizing it.

"After I went out with Subaru, I guess I just… felt it was right to spend all my time with her. I really am sorry, Mimiru. I never thought I would hurt you so much. You're still my best friend. Subaru can never be my best friend." Tsukasa finished and drew away from Mimiru to stare into her aqua-colored eyes.

_I can't believe I'm hearing this_! Mimiru almost cried with joy. _He called me his girlfriend! Indirectly, I suppose… but it's still there! Oh, I can't believe it! Tsukasa and Mimiru! Tsukasa and Mimiru! _

"I… I forgive you." Mimiru was unable to hold his silent, intense gaze.

"Thank you, Mimiru." Tsukasa smiled down on her and patted her brown spiky head affectionately. Mimiru immediately pulled away, pretending to be annoyed at this. But in reality, she loved it. The two sat in silence as the bus drove on. "Umm… Mimiru… I believe during my emotional confession, the bus passed our stop." Mimiru gave him a confused glance and looked out the window.

"TSUKASA!" Mimiru shouted, pointing at the boy. "This is all YOUR fault! If you hadn't spent so much time talking…" She continued ranting on and on.

Apparently Tsukasa was used to being Mimiru's scapegoat, because he waited until Mimiru stopped yelling. "Mimiru, you told me that you saw Miss BT in the outskirts. Well, why don't we just get off here and see if we can find her?"

As if to agree with him, the bus promptly stopped. Mimiru and Tsukasa dashed off the bus. Unlike yesterday night, the outskirts were now bustling with all kinds of people. Druggies, prostitutes, witches, gang members… you name it, they were here. Mimiru was fascinated by the group of small children who were dressed as ninjas. But… were they really acting?

Mimiru stared at the departing bus. "Ts-Tsukasa? Are you sure this is a good idea?" She clutched his arm, apprehensive for a moment. But then she caught sight of Faith. She was running around, carrying a huge ice cream.

"FAITH! FAITH!" Mimiru shouted at the top of her lungs. The black-haired girl whirled around until she found Mimiru. She ran over excitedly and dropped her ice cream. Tsukasa expertly seized it and handed it back to the hyper girl, who was now even more excited.

"Hi-hi!" Faith took a big lick of her ice cream, causing many of the men passing by to stare hard at her. "What are you two doing here? And thank you so much for getting my ice cream! Is your name Tsukasa?"

"Uh… yes, it is." Tsukasa blushed slightly. "Nice to meet you…"

"Faith! My name is Faith!" Faith's gray eyes twinkled eagerly. "Mimiru, do you want to go shopping with me? Balmung was mean and he didn't want to watch me, so I left the warehouse. Big Cousin Crim is going to be mad once he finds out I was outside by myself!" Faith grinned mischievously.

"Crim is your cousin?" Mimiru raised an eyebrow.

"Yup, yup! I live with Big Cousin Crim because my Daddy didn't want me and my Mommy is in a coma!" Faith's eyes showed some sadness. Tsukasa's eyes widened in shock and Mimiru gazed sympathetically at the both of them.

"My father used to abuse me. He didn't want me either." Tsukasa admitted softly and Faith gave him a big hug. Mimiru was in shock now.

_I can't believe he told a complete stranger that! He barely talks about it to anyone! Faith… she's special somehow. She has this… light in her… A light that other might not be able to see. But to people like Tsukasa, that light is empathy._ Mimiru smiled fondly at Tsukasa and Faith hugging.

"So… are you going to take me shopping? I need new clothes and colored pencils so I can draw and paper so I can use my new colored pencils and I'm hungry, too!" Faith grinned up hopefully at Tsukasa and Mimiru.

"Faith… how old are you?" Tsukasa raised an eyebrow as Faith began leading them throughout the outskirts, deeper inside the darkness of their city. The warehouse seemed to be far away in a distant world.

"I'm going to be sixteen in less than two months!" Faith took one last lick of her ice cream and then shoved the entire cone in her mouth. "Let's go shopping for clothes first! I have loads of money, so if you see anything you want, I'll get it for you!" And so the trio stopped in the first clothes store Faith saw.

All the clothes on the inside were just as dark, dreary, and depressing as the people who were wearing them. Faith bought about five outfits for herself and then two for Tsukasa and three for Mimiru.

"Faith… thank you so much!" Mimiru hugged the younger girl gratefully. "Tsukasa, you're the smartest boy on the planet!"

"Mimiru… it's getting dark. We should probably find Miss BT and head back home. I'm sure my Dad is worried." Tsukasa smiled warmly, but it was obvious that he was anxious.

"Aw! But we just got started!" Faith looked at the bags Mimiru and Tsukasa were already holding, due to their earlier trip to the mall. "Why don't we drop off those bags in BT's car and then you can call your father and tell him that Miss BT will drop you off later!" And so, the trio began walking back to the warehouse.

**Oooh, oooh. Chapter Two is done! Please review! Next up... Helba shows her enigmatic face. ((Creepy evil music)) dum-**_Dum_**-_DUM_**


	3. Chapter 3

**Okay... here's chapter three. Yes, Helba is weird. But I always did like her. And she's going to play a big part in this fic... which is starting to turn into a... oh, I'll let the readers decide...**

**To shadow dweller**- Glad that you love my fic and I love Evanescence, too.

**To Lady-Azura**- Ok, so it isn't exactly soon... but gimme a break. I'm not allowed online lol. I snuck on with my sneaky sneakiness.

**To link223**- Lol, I love my fic, too. And I'm definitely writinng more, as you can see.

**To TheWall267 & kaitou angel**- If Ed from Cowboy Bebop and Me were to fuse... you'd get Faith. So you see... she's half mine and half not. lol

**To Doom Huntress**- Yes, let us all bow down to Balmung's hotness! Ok, ok... getting too excited... As for Subaru... she's bearable... I suppose... maybe...

**To Gildholen Eledolin**- Wow you gave me three whole reviews lol. I love Lord of the Rings, too. Legolas is just as hot as Balmung... I have a poster of that sexy elf on my wall. Oh and I'm very glad that you like my fic.

_**CHAPTER THREE:**_

_**HELBA, THE HALCYON**_

* * *

Faith was walking in between Mimiru and Tsukasa because both of them were worried about her safety. Faith seemed to get weird looks form everyone, no matter where they went. They finally reached the dark warehouse and the black SUV, which was not too far away from it.

Faith pulled out a key and opened the door. A green head popped out and stared at the three of them. "Hi-hi, Big Brother Sora!" Faith pulled Sora out of the SUV and he blinked, confused. "Tsukasa-person needs to borrow your cell phone!"

Everyone could only stare in shock as Sora hugged Faith tightly. "Big Brother! What are you doing?" Faith tried to pull away, but Sora wouldn't let go.

"Mimiru… thank you so much for watching her." Sora's dark eyes actually looked serious. "You too… uh… Tsukasa. Faith means a lot to Crim and I. I hate to say it, but I've gotten attached to her. Balmung was supposed to watch her for the night, but he came up to Crim and I were looking for her."

"How mad is Big Sister BT?" Faith giggled, turning to Mimiru. "I'm only blood-related to Crim. But Sora and BT are a part of my spiritual family. I love them very, very much! And as you can see, Sora loves me, too!"

"Don't get too carried away!" Sora snapped, hitting Faith in the head. Faith began wailing loudly and that caused three people to dash out of the warehouse. Balmung, BT, and Crim.

"Faith!" Crim grabbed Faith in a tight hug. BT grasped her at the same time. Balmung just stood there and stared intently at Tsukasa and Mimiru. "I was so worried! Are you okay?"

"I'm fine! Tsukasa-person and Mimi-person watched me!" Faith chirped.

"Mimi?" Mimiru grit her teeth in anger. "Of all nicknames… MIMI?" Everyone unconsciously backed away from her. Then she sighed and hung her head. "But since you bought us all those clothes… I suppose it's alright…"

"You… you watched her?" Crim turned to Mimiru. "Thank you so much! You have no idea how happy I am!"

"My two model students." BT said smugly, smirking at Balmung. "They have more sense that you, obviously. If you lose her again-"

"I didn't _lose_ her." Balmung snapped irately. "The brat left on her own."

"That's why I left him! Because he's too mean!" Faith whined and clung to Mimiru. "Mimi-person is much nicer! I want her and Tsukasa-kun to watch me all the time!" Crim and Sora shared a knowing look. BT just glared at Balmung.

"Uh… can I borrow someone's cell phone?" Tsukasa was becoming uncomfortable. "Mimiru… are these _really_ the musicians for the band that you auditioned for… They seem more like a dysfunctional family than a band."

"Excuse me?" Balmung turned his gaze on Tsukasa. "Don't speak, you ignorant little boy." Mimiru glowered at Balmung. _How dare he say that to Tsukasa? He's not ignorant in the least! If anything… Tsukasa understands Faith more than he does!_ Balmung rolled his eyes in response to Mimiru's glare.

"That _ignorant little boy_ watched my Faith, something you couldn't even do." Crim narrowed his eyes at Balmung. "Faith, go get my cell phone." Faith happily complied, climbing in the SUV and returning a few moments later with a small blue phone. She tossed it to Tsukasa, who rapidly dialed a number.

"Umm… hello? Dad?" Tsukasa spoke up a few seconds later. "I'm… still with Mimiru. We accidentally missed our bus stop. Oh… no… Don't worry. Miss BT-one of our teachers-is going to…" He broke off; Bear must've interrupted him. "I… umm… I was talking intently with Mimiru and I didn't notice that we weren't anywhere near our homes…"

Faith giggled loudly at this and began making kissing noises. Tsukasa turned slightly red and Mimiru hit Faith on the head. "Shut it, you annoying little twit!" Mimiru snarled, ignoring BT's curious gaze.

"Stop being mean!" Faith whined and snatched Tsukasa's cell phone away. "Hi, Tsukasa's Daddy! Tsukasa fibbed! They were _kissing_ intently; that's why they didn't notice that the bus passed their stop!" Mimiru could only stare in horror and Tsukasa almost fainted right then and there. "Really? Wow, I had no idea!"

_What the heck is Bear saying to Faith?_ Mimiru was panicking mentally. _He can't possibly know that I love Tsukasa, right? Oh no, oh no, oh no…_

"My name is Faith! What's yours?" Faith chatted happily. Mimiru finally lost it and smacked Faith in the head again. "MOOEEEEEEEEE! Mimi-person, stop being so MEEEEEEEEAN!" She sat down and began wailing noisily.

"Alright, Bear! We'll be home in a little while, ok?" Mimiru shouted into the phone. She was fuming mad. _How dare Faith be so rude? She had no right to do that! The nerve, the audacity, the gall!_

"Sure, Mimiru. Be careful." Mimiru could almost see Bear smiling calmly. He hung up the phone and Mimiru gave the cell phone back to Crim.

"Listen up, you!" Mimiru shouted at Faith. "Don't you ever do that again, understood? What were you thinking? You're not five years old!" Faith continued bawling and BT frowned at Mimiru.

Tsukasa knelt down next to Faith. "I'm sorry Mimiru is so angry, but what you said offended her. That's just her way of saying it. Please stop crying." Tsukasa put a hand on Faith's back and she looked up, tears still falling from her eyes.

"B-but… Mimiru hates me!" Faith sniffed miserably.

"I don't hate you!" Mimiru stomped over and crossed her arms over her chest in an annoyed fashion. "I shout at everyone. And I get irked easily. And you happen to irk me _very_ easily."

"Yippee!" Faith squealed and jumped up on Mimiru. Mimiru effortlessly held the smaller teenager and patted her black hair. "Mimi-person! Mimi-chan! I want to meet Mr. Bear! And I want more ice cream! And I want you to watch me forever and ever and ever and ever and ever-"

A loud ringing sound was heard and Faith broke off. Crim pushed a button on his cell phone and began speaking into it. "Yeah? Where are you? What happened? WHAT? Are you serious? Well… thanks a lot. Now we have to cancel…" Crim hung up his phone furiously.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked, actually sounding concerned.

"Our… erm _singer_ is out partying. _Again_. I'm surprised she actually called this time." Crim shook his head angrily. "This is the third time!"

"Mimi-person will sing!" Faith jumped off Mimiru and began dancing around. "And I will put on Mimi-person's makeup and pick her outfit! And after our gig, BT will drive Mimi-chan and Tsukasa-person home!"

"Wait a minute!" Mimiru protested, holding her hands up.

"You're already in the top five." Faith winked conspiratorially.

"Umm… okay." Mimiru looked at Tsukasa and shrugged. Tsukasa smiled back at her. _I can't believe it! Top five! Top five! Okay, okay… I have to turn off the happy_. "So… what now?"

"Makeup! Makeup!" Faith grinned evilly. "You see… I'm the fashion specialist in the band. I did Big Brother Sora's hair, Big Cousin Crim's hair… Big Sister BT's clothing and makeup… and Bad Balmung's clothes. But… Mimi-person's outfit is perfect! All she needs is makeup!"

"I don't like makeup, Faith." Mimiru said dryly. Faith pouted and tears filled her eyes. _ARRRRRRRRRRGH…_ "FINE! You can do my makeup…"

"YAY!" Faith grabbed onto Mimiru's hand. "Tsukasa-kun! You stay and bond with the men! BT! Come with me!"

"Faith. I don't ever recall authorizing this." BT glared at Faith. "You can't just recruit a band member because you feel like it."

"But who else are we going to get on such short notice?" Crim sighed and scratched his hair. "I agree with Faith. And it's not like Mimiru can't sing. It'll be just for tonight."

"And I suppose we'll allow all the other contestants to perform with us, too?" Balmung narrowed his eyes at Crim.

"Balmung wa baka!" Faith sang at the top of her lungs. "Just the top five get to sing, silly goose!" Balmung looked like he wanted to strangle her.

"Ah! The girl has a point." Sora nodded, smirking at Balmung. "You _are_ stupid." Mimiru, Faith, and Crim burst out laughing. "I haven't had a good laugh in a while… I say we listen to her."

"Ugh… fine…" BT felt her forehead, as if she was sick. "If anything goes wrong… I'm going to kill you Faith." _This is insane! Two of my students are in the outskirts and I have to be responsible for them… Bear… DIE! I have a migraine…_

"Kimochi warui!" Faith responded cheerfully. "I mustn't runaway, I mustn't runaway, I mustn't runaway, I mustn't runaway, I mustn't runaway…" Crim seemed to have gotten the act and shook his head.

"She had ice cream, didn't she? When she's really hyper she starts quoting random anime…" Crim sighed. "Mimiru, we'll be starting soon. Since you don't want any makeup or anything…" _Why did I ever let her watch Evangelion? That was much to graphic for her anyway..._

"Tsukasa." BT grabbed the silver-haired boy by the arm. "Come with me."

"Uh… bye Mimiru!" Tsukasa called out helplessly as BT dragged him away.

"So… are we performing in that building?" Mimiru pointed to the building where she had auditioned. Balmung nodded grimly. "Wait a minute… how am I supposed to sing a song I don't even know? Where the heck is that singer?"

"Oops… I forgot about that part…" Faith put her finger on her chin. "I guess you'll just have to hum the whole song." ((A/N I got that from Gravitation. Shuichi kicks azz!))

"FAI-TH!" Crim turned to his cousin in blind fury. "CURSE THAT HELBA!" He began chasing Faith around in circles.

"Helba? Who's she?" Mimiru cocked her head to one side.

"Our soon-to-be retired singer." Sora let out a long sigh. "It's a long story, really. But I'll tell you. You see… Balmung and Helba used to be an item. But… they basically had nothing in common, so it didn't last long. Besides… no man or woman in his/her right mind would stay in a relationship with him.

"He's arrogant, heartless, sarcastic, cynical, and defensive to the point of no return. But poor Helba… she was blinded and missed all of Balmung's demonic qualities! Oh… how the mighty have fallen…" Sora sighed wistfully as if he was swooning. Crim almost fell over in disbelief.

"The point is… once Balmung broke up with Helba, she stopped caring about our band. She stopped showing up for practice, purposely missed meetings, went out 'partying' when we were supposed to perform…" Crim smiled dourly, looking at Mimiru. "It's gotten ugly. So that's why we need a new singer."

"You see… if Balmung was ugly, no one would care about him." Sora floated over to Balmung, who was ignoring all of this. "But just look at him. His lovely silver locks, his cold neon green eyes… and he has abs to die for…"

"Uh…" Mimiru blinked in shock. "Sora… are you?"

"I'm hairy... and I'm a fairy." Sora batted his eyelashes flirtatiously. Mimiru rolled her eyes and turned away from this particular sight. "Oh… We should all watch Gravitation again. How I love it so!"

"I LOVE Gravitation!" Faith cheered and danced around Sora. "Faith loves Gravitation, na no da!" Faith grabbed onto Sora's hands and swung them.

"Why does that _not_ surprise me…" Mimiru let out another sigh. _Sora is just plain weird. But he has a point… Balmung is hot. So maybe Sora's not so psycho after all. He has good taste, at least… _

"And my _loving_ boyfriend…" Sora latched onto Crim's arm and tried to plant a kiss on his cheek. He was rewarded with a punch to the head. "Ow! What was that for?"

"Don't touch me." Crim glared at Sora. "I saw you fawning over Balmung. _Again_!" _Why do I even put up with him…_

"Oh my darling Crim…" Sora whimpered pitifully.

"Enough. We have a gig, remember?" Balmung glared at Sora. "What are we going to do about Helba?"

"Maybe if you apologize to Helba… she'll perform tonight." Mimiru suggested hopefully. Balmung turned his death glare on her. "HEY! There's no reason to get mad at me because of your mistakes! It was only a suggestion, you jerk!" _Oooh… I don't care how hot he is. I've never taken crap from anyone before and I'm not going to start now!_

"Excuse me?" Balmung narrowed his eyes menacingly at Mimiru.

"You heard me!" Mimiru glared right back at Balmung.

"Our time is running out." Crim cut in, stepping in between Mimiru and Balmung. Faith and Sora were dancing together again. "Mimiru has a point. Sora, you, Balmung, and Mimiru head to 'Chaos Gate'. That's the name of the club where Helba is. The rest of us will set up for the gig."

"Crim." Balmung looked at him. "I'm not going."

"Yes you are. You got us into this mess." Crim glowered down at Balmung. "You figure out a way to get her back here. One last time."

"I'm ready." Mimiru shrugged, looking over at Sora.

"Ooh! I'll bet there'll be a whole bunch of hot guys there…" Sora began to salivate. Mimiru punched him in the back of the head. "What was that for?"

"I'll keep an eye on him, Crim." Mimiru grabbed Sora by the arm. "Take care! So, Balmung. Where's this club?" And with that, the trio left on their journey to find "Chaos Gate".

* * *

And… twenty minutes later they _**still**_ hadn't found it. Mimiru had gotten tired of Sora's incessant babbling. _I never knew gay guys were SO annoying. And this one over here… _Mimiru stole a quick look at Balmung. _Has he taken a vow of silence or something? Argh!_

The trio had searched almost every iota of the outskirts. Every creep in the book seemed to be here tonight. Most of these people gave Mimiru the willies. "We are _never_ going to find Helba!" Mimiru stomped on the ground. Half the creeps on the block turned towards her.

"Who said my name?" A demanding voice boomed out. Mimiru froze and turned around. She was facing a tall blonde wearing the weirdest outfit she had ever seen in her life. _This is Helba? Why does everyone dress like its Halloween?_

((A/N: Just in case you want to see what she looks like, there's a link at the end of this chapter))

"Idid?" Mimiru smiled nervously. Helba peered down to look at her.

"And just who are you?" Helba looked behind Mimiru and saw Balmung and Sora. "What nice friends you have."

Mimiru gulped. _Looks like I'm on my own…_ She glanced at Sora, who was cowering behind Balmung, who was looking just as nonchalant as ever. "Ok, ok. This was all my idea… which is why I'm the _only_ one talking right now… I need you to sing tonight. I know you probably don't want to and I can see why…" She glared at the two useless males behind her.

"They aren't exactly band material. One needs to have a Coke and a smile and the other one needs a _strong_ sedative. But it wasn't very gracious of you to back out at the last moment. And give us some name to a club that doesn't even exist! I wasted _my_ precious looking everywhere for you and-" Mimiru broke off.

"I'll do it." Helba smirked down at Mimiru, halting her tirade.

"You will?" Sora and Mimiru exclaimed. Even Balmung looked mildly surprised.

"I believe so." Helba looked up at the cold night sky. "You're going to get sick out here, young one. I'm sure your Mother is worried about you."

"Oh-Kay…" Mimiru grabbed Sora by the arm. "Is she always this bizarre?" She whispered in his ear. _And why the heck wouldn't my Father be worried about me? I wonder what color her eyes are… Helba is so… mysterious… _

"Bizarre?" Helba turned to Mimiru. "What is normal, Black Rose?"

"Giving me a new name sure as hell isn't normal!" Mimiru backed away from Helba. "What are you?" _Black Rose? Then again… that name is kinda cool. I wonder what name she'd give Tsukasa…_

"Who am I? I am… nowhere and everywhere." Helba smiled secretively. Mimiru felt a chill go down her spine. "Kite. Kite is his name."

"Let's go." Balmung spoke up. "Stop your antics. You're scaring her." And with that, he whirled around and began walking. Sora quickly followed after him. Mimiru stared up in wonder at Helba.

"You read my mind." Mimiru said matter-of-factly.

"Did I? Or were your thoughts loud enough for me to hear?" Helba started walking after Balmung and Sora. _What is with her? She's so… so…_ Mimiru sighed and followed the woman.

"Esoteric? Enigmatic? Unfathomable? Arcane?" Helba finished for her. Sora turned around and looked at the two of them. Then he shook his head and turned back around, walking closer to Balmung. "Beware, Black Rose. Things are never as they appear. Do not accept the change."

"What change? What are you talking about?" Mimiru asked crossly. "And why do you keep calling me that? That's not my name! If you really were psychic, you'd know it."

"Black Rose is your name." Helba said simply. "It is the name she gave you."

"She? Who?" Mimiru let out a groan. "You're _way_ too confusing."

"You will meet her soon." Helba smiled down at Mimiru. "Be brave."

And Helba said nothing more until the group reached the warehouse. As soon as they reached BT's SUV, Crim came running out of the warehouse. "What took you so-" Crim's eyes widened in shock. "Helba? You're… here?"

"Yes. One last time." Helba said straightforwardly. "I believe those were your words." Mimiru stood there, looking quite uncomfortable.

"Yeah, yeah." Crim rolled his eyes. "You're just as cocky as Balmung, constantly flaunting your powers. Give us normal people a break." Crim began walking towards the warehouse.

"Shall we enter?" Helba gestured towards the warehouse. "The back door, I'm guessing. Come, Mimiru."

Mimiru's eyes almost popped out of their sockets, but she obeyed, trailing after the peculiar blonde, shivering. Balmung and Sora followed them. They went around the right side of the warehouse until they found a hidden door. Balmung opened it and they entered.

The first thing Mimiru noticed was the crowd. Sure, she was in the back of the warehouse. But the noise was deafening. Mimiru noticed that all the chairs that had been there for her audition were gone. The warehouse seemed to be a lot bigger now that it was filled with people. The trio was in a hallway behind the stage.

"BT and Tsukasa are one of those rooms." Helba pointed to a point further down the hallway. "Sora. Crim and Faith need help setting up the equipment." Sora nodded and ran off, most likely happy to leave Helba.

"I'll help them." Balmung said simply and walked off in Sora's direction. Mimiru was now alone with Helba.

"Don't you need to… prepare for your song or something?" Mimiru smiled anxiously. _I can't believe Balmung left me alone with her! What a jerk!_

"I would like to meet this Tsukasa before she does." Helba began walking down the hallway and Mimiru had no choice but to follow. They passed three rooms and then Helba stopped at the four and opened it without knocking.

The room was fairly small and only contained a tatty couch, a huge cracked window and a medium-sized television in front of the couch. BT and Tsukasa were watching the TV when Helba and Mimiru entered.

"Hey Mimiru!" Tsukasa stood up and ran over to Mimiru. "Is this Helba?" BT rose up and stalked out of the room without a word. "What's wrong with her?"

"She can't stand me." Helba said simply. "It is very nice to finally meet you, Kite." _Yes… he is the one. He is the Chosen. Black Rose… you must protect him._

"Kite? That's not my name. My name is-" Tsukasa started, looking slightly confused. _There's something familiar about her… But what is it…_

"Tsukasa." Helba smiled mysteriously. "Let us sit down." Mimiru shook her head and dragged Tsukasa back over to the couch. She would make sure that she sat in between Helba and Tsukasa. She didn't trust Helba, not one bit.

"Mimiru… who is she?" Tsukasa shivered in uneasiness.

"I am merely a messenger." Helba sat down next to Mimiru. "Happy?" She looked at Mimiru, smirking slightly. "You might have forgotten your past lives, but I have not. Neither has she."

"She, she, she! That's all I ever hear about! Who is she?" Mimiru threw her hands in the air in frustration. "God, you're pissing me off!"

"Who could Helba be talking about?" Tsukasa frowned pensively. "Could this person have anything to do with the mysterious blackout earlier today?"

"You mean the one Bear was investigating?" Mimiru looked over at him. "I guess we'll just have to ask him."

"And as for you two… danger is on its way." Helba stood up suddenly. "Look into this blackout. Kite. Black Rose. You are no longer secure here. I shall send you back to the sanctuary of your homes."

"Wait, wait! Send us both to his house!" Mimiru had no idea _when_ she got used to Helba's eccentricity, but home was the _last_ place she wanted to be.

"As you wish." Helba held her hands out in front of her. White light emitted from her fingertips and surrounded Mimiru and Tsukasa. They could feel the energy swirling around them. Then everything went black.

"Ow…" Mimiru opened her eyes, sitting up. She was Tsukasa's bed, in his room? "She did it…" Tsukasa was sleeping softly beside her. Mimiru was so tired, she collapsed back down on the bed, failing to hear the quiet laughter coming from above her…

**Hoped you liked it. FINITO! And if that link above didn't work, here it is again.** http/ www. icecavern. net/qirien /anime /dot-hack /infection-art /helba. jpg **Lol, I just put a whole bunch of spaces in between the link. I dunno if that will help, I know that another author did that once. Please Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello. I'm really sorry I haven't updated in forever. Please don't be _too_ cross with me. Try and enjoy this chapter and I'll work hard to have the next one up soon. Once again, I apologize for the long wait. Faith apologizes, too! **

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CHAPTER FOUR:

_**THE BEAST WITHIN TSUKASA

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Boy did Mimiru get in trouble when she got home the next day. She had been grounded for two weeks and she was forbidden to see Tsukasa during that time. And the worse part was that her parents had started fighting. It seemed that everything in Mimiru's life was going wrong.

Mimiru was lying down on her bed, pondering that seemingly magical night. _Helba… I wonder what she's doing now… Since Tsukasa isn't grounded… I wonder if he found out anything about that blackout. I'll bet he forgot all about it once Subaru came back yesterday. I hate school…_

Mimiru was bored out of her mind. She couldn't go anywhere, see anybody (not that there was anyone to see), or do anything. The only thing she had going for her was school. Pathetic? Very. She rolled over so she was lying on her stomach.

_It's a perfectly normal boring Monday afternoon… and I have nothing to do… _Mimiru let out a long sigh. Her brother was most likely out playing soccer at a friend's house. _I can't believe I actually sat with Tsukasa and Subaru during lunch today… And I can't believe that prudent witch kept her mouth shut. All she would talk about was her Uncle's odd new daughter. Who really cares about some pale little brat anyway? Am I supposed to care or something?_

"You should." A voice said from above her. Mimiru froze and jumped off her bed, staring at the ceiling. "I'm glad that I was in your thoughts." White light entered the room and when it cleared… there stood Helba… right on Mimiru's bed! Mimiru ogled Helba in disbelief.

"What are you doing here?" Mimiru hissed, running over to her door and closing it. _Can my day get any worse? _"And stop reading my mind!"

"Your father is still at work. Your mother is downstairs, putting the groceries away. Your brother is at soccer practice." Helba said simply, sitting down on Mimiru's bed. "I bring you news from Tsukasa."

"Really?" Mimiru couldn't help but be eager. "What did he say?"

"Tsukasa spoke his to guardian. Bear told Tsukasa that right before the blackout, eyewitnesses spotted a short raven-haired teenaged girl carrying an odd giant teddy bear." Helba informed Mimiru seriously.

"What's so odd about a girl carrying a teddy bear?" Mimiru said skeptically, with an eyebrow raised.

"About eight people noticed that the bear's eyes were blood red and three even said they saw the eyes moving." Helba crossed her arms over her chest. "This girl is obviously Her slave."

"ARGH!" Mimiru stood up impatiently. "Well, what am I supposed to do about it? Why are you even telling me? It's your fault I'm in so much trouble…"

"Is it?" Helba asked innocently. "Well, I was going to teleport Tsukasa here. But since you're in such a bad mood, maybe I shouldn't."

"W-wait." Mimiru stuttered before she could stop herself. "Okay, okay. I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Now, now. You only need to show some respect once in a while. No need to shut your mouth." Helba said pleasantly and held her hands out. The same white light appeared and filled the room. With a flash, it was gone and Tsukasa was in its place. He plopped to the floor.

"Huh?" Tsukasa got up. He was holding a phone with a broken cord on it. "Gee, thanks, Helba. You broke the cord on the phone. How am I supposed to explain this to Dad?"

"Uh… Sorry Dad… We lost the other half the cord in teleportation." Mimiru said jokingly and ignored Tsukasa's glare. "Who were you talking to, anyway?"

"Subaru. I hope she won't be mad at me for hanging up on her…" Tsukasa shook his head and sat down on Mimiru's bed. "So… why am I here?"

"Good to know that you missed me." Mimiru spat out bitterly. _I guess I don't matter at all… As long as Subaru is there for him…_

"Actually, I was talking to her about the blackout." Tsukasa smiled sadly at Mimiru. "And I thought you forgave me." Helba smirked at Mimiru.

"Oh." Mimiru looked away from him, embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't apologize." Tsukasa shook his head. "But I _am_ worried about Subaru. Her adopted cousin sure is weird. When I told her what time the blackout started, Subaru told me that her cousin had locked herself in her room five minutes before. That's weird…"

"How old is she?" Helba demanded immediately.

"How was I supposed to get any useful information when you-" Tsukasa broke off, sighing. "I'll ask her tomorrow. In a way, that'll be better. Because Mimiru will probably remember all the questions I'm going to forget overnight."

"What makes you so sure?" Helba frowned.

"Mimiru knows me." Tsukasa shrugged nonchalantly. "Right, Mimi-chan?" He smirked at her. Mimiru glared at Tsukasa playfully. Mimiru yawned loudly and stretched out her arms.

"So…" Mimiru trailed off at the look Tsukasa was giving her. "Why are you looking at me like-" She followed Tsukasa's eyes to her left arm and mentally cursed. _Oh well… At least Subaru didn't tell him… Maybe I shouldn't mention that…_

"Mimiru… why?" Tsukasa's eyes filled with tears. "Why would you do that to yourself? What would drive you to such insanity? W… no… NO! It was me… wasn't it… I made you like this…"

"Tsukasa, I…" Mimiru's voice grew faint. She didn't know what to say, for once. Helba stood there as if she was a statue. _What help she is!_ She rolled her eyes and turned back to Tsukasa, who was obviously suffering from kind of inner turmoil. His face was paler, if that was even possible… And he didn't try stopping the tears from falling down his face.

"Helba… take me home." Tsukasa turned to the woman helplessly. "I can't take this, I can't. Please…" When Helba didn't answer, he stood up neurotically. "Take me home! Take me back!" He began shrieking and Helba actually jumped from the tone of his voice.

_What have I done…_ Mimiru hung her head in her hands. She didn't even bother looking up once the white light filled the room.

"I hope you realize that your self-punishment has caused his breakdown." Helba let out a long sigh. "This makes him an easy target. Prepare yourself."

"What are you talking about?" Mimiru frowned angrily. "Can you _not_ be cryptic for ONCE?"

"Are you prepared to protect Tsukasa with your life?" Helba rose in the air and vanished. Mimiru punched the air in rage.

_I am sick and tired of this woman confusing me! I probably shouldn't talk to Tsukasa for a while. Give him some time to cool off._ Mimiru walked over to her closed door and slumped against it. _I completely forgot about cutting. I haven't done it in a while. And Subaru didn't even bother to tell him. Probably didn't want any more of his attention going to me._ Mimiru didn't even realize that she was nodding off… most likely the biggest mistake she would make in her life…

_**(Begin Dream)**_

_Mimiru was standing on a stage. The crowd was roaring and cheering for her. They loved her. She began to twirl around and shout with all her might: "This song is for Tsukasa!" She screamed out. She gripped her microphone and started:_

**"Can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?**

**We just keep dreaming of the land 'cross the river**

**We are always on the way to find the place we belong**

**Wandering to nowhere, we're paddling**

**Down the raging sea**

**Who can cross over such raving wind and water?**

**On the rolling boat we sit, shivering with coldness**

**Come by an island, come by a hillock,**

**It's just another place, we paddle on**

**Down the raging sea**

**But in one morning we'll see the sun**

**Bright shining morning dew singing**

**They who will search will find the land**

**of evergreen. Search for the light…**

**Can you hear the calling of the raving wind and water?**

**We just keep paddling down the sea, up the river**

**No destination, but we are together**

**In the silent sadness we're paddling**

**We're paddling down… down the raging sea**

**down to nowhere…"**

_Mimiru smiled in satisfaction. Faith was among the crowd, jumping up in excitement. BT was standing beside her, a proud grin on her face. Mimiru whirled around. Crim was holding his guitar, standing behind her, to her left. Sora was grinning behind his drums. Balmung was smirking, sitting behind his piano. _

"_We did it!" Mimiru squealed and ran over to them. "Wasn't that great?"_

"_Yeah." Balmung stood up. "Too bad Tsukasa wasn't here to see it."_

"_Huh?" Mimiru cocked her head to one side. "Why wouldn't he be here?"_

"_Because he's in the hospital, silly!" Mimiru whirled back around, terrified. It was only Faith. But she had the creepiest expression on her face. And her eyes were blood red, almost like a warning signal. "You know… its up to you to restore him. Save him, save him, Mimi-chan! Save him, save him, Mimi-chan! Save him, save him, Mimi-chan! Save him, save him, Mimi-chan! Because if you don't… no one will."_

_And with that, Faith vanished into thin air, with Mimiru ogling the spot she was once standing in. "It's your fault, but you're strong. You can do it." Crim stared solemnly at Mimiru. He vanished as well, leaving a confused Mimiru behind. _

"_You have to undo your mistakes, Mimiru." BT disappeared next. Balmung fixed Mimiru with his distant, but significant gaze. He left soon after. _

"_Good luck, Mimi! We know you can do it!" Sora shouted joyfully, leapt in the air high above his drums and disappeared. Mimiru was alone. The world around her whirled and whirled until she was dizzy. Mimiru closed her eyes…_

_**(End Dream)**_

"MIMIIRU! OPEN THE DOOR!" Mimiru awoke to the noise of her Mother banging on the door. Groaning, she stood up slowly and opened the door. Her Mom burst in with tears in her eyes. "Oh Mimiru. I'm so sorry." She grabbed Mimiru in a tight hug. "I can't believe this happened… Poor Tsukasa…"

"What?" Mimiru gulped. _Oh no… Tsukasa told her about my cutting… Oh well… I can't stay mad at him. I guess I have to… I really did forget about it…_ "But Mom, I-" She started.

"Bear called from the hospital…" Her Mother let out a sigh, still not releasing her daughter. "Tsukasa swallowed pills. Forty Aleve, fifteen Motrin, and twenty-two Zyrtec. He might not make it…"

Mimiru stood there in shock. "I don't know what compelled him to do such a thing. He seemed to be doing so fine. He has a perfect best friend, a pleasant girlfriend, a wonderful Father… I just don't understand it…" Now, her mother couldn't stop the tears from falling. "He's… oh I can't…"

"N-no…" Mimiru broke away from her mother. _I did this… I did this to him… Oh Tsukasa… I love you so much… Please… you can't die. Don't die. I can't lose you now. Not now, when things are finally starting to get better… I wish I never started cutting… I wish I wasn't so stupid…_

"Mimiru? Mimiru!" Her mother shook her by the shoulders. "Listen to me, Mimiru. We have to be strong. No matter what happens. I'll drive you to the hospital, but I'm going to take care of Bear. He must be hurting so much right now. You talk to Tsukasa. I don't care if he's in a coma or half-dead or…"

"Alright." Mimiru nodded.

"That's my girl." Her Mom kissed her on the forehead. "I'm going to get the car ready. I'm also going to call your father and tell him to pick Motoki up from soccer practice."

"Forget it. Dad hardly ever leaves work." Mimiru narrowed her eyes angrily. "Ask Miss Robertson to do it."

"That I will. My level-headed one." Mimiru's Mom quickly left the room. Mimiru plopped down onto her bed.

_Tsukasa…_ Mimiru grabbed onto her hair. _Why the hell am I so inconsiderate? Tsukasa could die because of me… We don't have enough time. I have to get there-NOW._

"HELBA! HELBA! I know you can hear me!" Mimiru screamed at the top of her lungs. "Get your ass over here now!"

"There is no reason for such profanity." Helba appeared right in front of her, white light and all. She was frowning slightly.

"Let's go." Mimiru clutched Helba's arm. "I'm ready to go save Tsukasa. Whatever it takes."

"Oh really?" Helba smirked bending down so that she was eye-to-eye with Mimiru. "Have you ever killed a monster before, Mimiru?"

"Uh, no." Mimiru shook her head. "But whatever I have to do, I'll do it. Let's focus on the details later."

"Mimiru, you cannot be reckless." Helba seized Mimiru's arm and squeezed it. Hard. "I cannot allow you to die."

"Oh-Kay. What the hell is the big deal?" Mimiru wrenched her arm out of Helba's grasp. "Just take me there! You're wasting time!"

"Black Rose, are you prepared to face the perils ahead?" Helba's tone was gravely ominous. Mimiru had a feeling that something bad was about to happen.

"Anything for Tsukasa." Mimiru clenched her hands into fists. "I'll slay any demon I have to." _Even though I have no idea how… Oh well… I guess I'll figure that out later_- Mimiru broke off as white light surrounded her and swallowed her up. She had to bite her lip to keep from screaming.

When Mimiru opened her eyes, she was standing in front of a white bed with a huge white light over it. Everything else around her was dark. Helba was nowhere to be seen. Mimiru ran over to the front of the bed. "Tsukasa!" She screamed out. He was lying there, white as paper, his expression just as blank.

"Fuufuufuu. You want your boy back?" An icy voice called out from above Mimiru. She jumped, immediately looking upwards. A huge black bat with white eyes fluttered above her, showing off its menacing fangs. Its sharp silver claws glinted as it flexed them.

"What _are_ you?" Mimiru wrinkled her nose. This creature was ugly. And it reeked of evil. _Wait, of evil? Since when do things reek of evil? This is some weird dream I'm having. Or maybe Helba is up to this. Maybe she cast some spell on me. But either way, I have to save Tsukasa!_ "Never mind; that doesn't matter to me."

"On the contrary, my dear, it _does_ matter to you." The bat flapped its wings twice, sending out black dust onto Tsukasa's unconscious body. As soon as the dust touched Tsukasa, his body shook uncontrollably and red spots began to appear all over his body. His body continued convulsing and he spat up blood.

"What are you doing to him?" Mimiru growled protectively. Her hands became fists. She wanted to kill this monster, which was killing Tsukasa.

"The boy wants to die. I am merely helping him achieve that state." The bat cackled and rose higher in the air. "You cannot stop me. Why did Helba send you here? What good are you?" Tsukasa's body finally became still. He was still alive.

_Grrrr…._ Mimiru scowled. _What can I do? Whatever it takes to take this thing down!_ She held out her hands and to her amazement, her necklace appeared.

Mimiru held the necklace Tsukasa gave her by the chain and began swinging around her head, unaware of the black energy it was emitting. The bat let out an anxious shriek and flew up into the darkness, away from Tsukasa. Her necklace began to glow red, becoming a laser in the thick darkness.

"You can't hide from me!" Mimiru shouted out, letting go of her necklace and allowing it to fling into the darkness. She heard the final shriek of the bat, the plop of its body on the ground, and its blood spilling. She watched as Tsukasa's body returned to normal. She could even hear him breathing.

Suddenly, there was light everywhere. They were in some weird, empty realm. The vast, infiniteness of the realm astounded Mimiru. It was as if a bed, two people, and a dead bat had suddenly been dropped into space somewhere. There was nothing else around them. Where were they?

Mimiru ran over to the bat's dead body. Its red blood was still flowing out of it. But wait… There was a huge sword implanted in the bat's stomach. Mimiru stared at it in wonder. "Where did you come from?" Mimiru cocked her head to one side. The handle was brown with a turquoise end and the wide blade was silver with brown zigzags extending from the handle to the middle of the blade. It was an impressive sword. But where did it come from?

Mimiru put one hand on the sword and pulled it out easily. The bat's body disintegrated into tiny black particles and vanished. The sword fit in her hands as if it was hers. She slashed it around quickly, testing it. _What's going on? I've never used a sword before, have I? What does this mean? And where's my necklace?_ Mimiru froze and whirled around. Tsukasa had sat up in bed and was watching her.

Mimiru ran over to him. "Mimiru, where are we? What's going on?" Tsukasa sounded scared. Mimiru dropped the sword on the ground and hugged him tightly. "M-Mimiru?"

"You idiot! Why did you do you that? How could you?" Mimiru let go of Tsukasa and slapped him across the face. "Taking all those pills like that! Your stomach is sensitive as it is."

"Mi…" Tsukasa gently held his cheek and held Mimiru's gaze for a long time. "Are we dreaming? This has to be a dream. This can't be the hospital."

"I… I don't know. Helba brought me here. Somehow." Mimiru sat down on Tsukasa's bed, not before picking up the sword. She held it up to the light, admiring it. She slashed the air a couple times, enjoying the feel of the sword. "Tsukasa, do you believe in destiny?"

"What?" Tsukasa sounded confused. "Mimiru, what's going on?"

"I think… I think there's more to the world than malls and school and fairy tales. I think there's a darker, unknown side to the world and we're getting a taste of it right now." Mimiru frowned thoughtfully. "There was a monster here, Tsukasa. A huge bat that was killing you. And I used this sword to kill it. Helba knew about this. She knows that the world isn't all silver and gold. We're being dragged into something, Tsukasa. And we have to be careful."

"A bat? With white eyes?" Tsukasa asked curiously. Mimiru turned to him in shock. "That monster… I used to have nightmares about it when I was younger. One Halloween, my father wouldn't let me Trick-or-Treat outside so I was stuck watching movies instead. I saw that monster in one of the movies and I never forgot about it. It plagued my nightmares… until I met you. The day before I met you was the last time I had a nightmare about it."

"Really?" Mimiru smirked to herself. "So I had to kill it twice to make it stay down. What a sucker!" She swiped her sword for emphasis proudly. Then she remembered how she ended up here in the first place. "Tsukasa, I'm sorry for upsetting you. For cutting myself… you have to believe me, I'm doing better. I really am. As a matter of fact, I forgot about it. I did. I should have waited until the scars healed before I went around flaunting my arms…"

"Mimiru… it's partially my fault, too." Tsukasa's eyes filled with tears. "I've been such a horrible friend and I… Seeing that monster again just brought back so many bad memories… Mimiru, after Helba brought me home, I threw up in the toilet. Then I went to wash my mouth out and I saw it. That bat was leering at me from the mirror. And it wouldn't go away, no matter how many times I screamed at it. Its mouth just kept on getting bigger and bigger until I thought the whole bathroom was going to swallow me whole. I couldn't take it anymore. I just kept throwing the pills down my throat until…" He was openly sobbing now.

"Look, Tsukasa, we've got to stop crying." Mimiru smiled sadly, wiping her own tears away. "Right now, we've got to get back to our world. We can't stay here forever. Tsukasa, we both need help."

"That you do!" A voice called out cheerfully and the teens both jumped. It was Helba. Or at least, her voice. "Allow me to assist you both." The whiteness of the room seemed to intensify after her words. The radiance of the realm began to blind the teens. Mimiru and Tsukasa held onto each other, eyes scrunched shut.

Mimiru felt as if she was flying somewhere, fast. She could no longer feel Tsukasa with her or her sword. As she felt her body slowing down, she heard Helba whisper: "Good job, Black Rose." Then there was nothing but oblivion.

"Mimiru! Mimiru, wake up!" Someone was calling her. Mimiru sat up in amazement. She had been sleeping in her bed? What the heck was going on? Mimiru's mother was standing in her room, screaming joyously at her. Then Mimiru remembered everything that happened in that weird place and her eyes widened. "-and the doctors have no idea how it happened, but he's already made a full recovery! Isn't this wondrous, Mimiru?"

"Wait, Mom, what's going on?" Mimiru's eyes nearly popped out of her head. "How long was I out?"

"What do you mean?" Mimiru's mother gave her an odd look. "I just left the room to call Mrs. Robertson, when Bear called. Tsukasa woke up and he's going to be just fine. All traces of drugs in his body have completely vanished. The hospital is going to have him stay overnight, but he'll be released as soon as the sun rises tomorrow." Mimiru's Mom watched her daughter's joyous reaction.

_I did it. I saved Tsukasa! _Mimiru grinned to herself. _But wow… Tsukasa and I spent so much time in that weird place… which was like no time at all in the real world. I was gone for maybe a couple minutes in real life… How freaky is that?_

"Let's go to the hospital!" Mimiru's Mom gestured for her daughter to get up and she did. Mimiru practically bolted down the steps, ready to meet Tsukasa. _I saved him, I did it. Tsukasa doesn't need Subaru. He has me. Me._ Mimiru smiled to herself as her Mom snatched the car keys off the counter. "I'm ready, Mom."

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Woohoo! Another chapter finished! Next up, the weirdness continues. "She" is finally revealed. Why is Helba afraid of Her? Why is She after Tsukasa? And can Mimiru protect him? Or will someone else have to step up to the plate? 


	5. Chapter 5

**So yeah, I haven't updated this story in like months. What brought me back you ask? The people who reviewed and said "update soon" or "PLEASE UPDATE SOON" or "continue soon". I'll be honest, I most likely wouldn't have wrote this chapter if all of you reviewers hadn't urged me to. So... this chapter goes out to everyone who reveiwed my fic, even tho the last time I updated was in the end of January. I love you guys and thanks for giving me inspiration!**

**P.s. So if I start slacking off, you know what to do lol. Forgive and notify me if there are any mistakes. I'm kinda tired, so I'm not going to check it over. I know, I'm being bad... Sawi...

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_**CHAPTER FIVE:**_

**_THE GIRL AND THE GUARDIAN

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Mimiru scowled darkly, her blue-green eyes glaring out of the window. She was so pissed off that she could scream. Her eyes strayed to Subaru, who was actually sitting on Tsukasa's white hospital bed, holding onto his hands as if he was dying from cancer. She wasn't even sitting in the empty chair that was _next_ to the bed; no, she had to sit _on_ the bed.

Mimiru wanted to rip Subaru's blue hair out, but restrained herself. She had chosen to drag her own chair away from the oh-so-happy couple and seat herself next to the window. She found herself transfixed by the view. Tsukasa was in a nice, clean hospital, near many trees and singing birds.

Mimiru's Mother and Bear had left a few hours ago, most likely to talk about Tsukasa. The two adults knew that Subaru and Mimiru would take care of Tsukasa while he slept. Mimiru glanced quickly at Tsukasa. Indeed, the silver-haired boy was still fast asleep and this worried her.

"He still hasn't woken up." Mimiru's head shot up at the sound of Subaru's sweet voice. It made her sick. "Mimiru, I'm worried."

Mimiru snorted and tossed her head. "There's nothing to be worried about. He's perfectly healthy; even the doctor said so." She crossed her arms over her chest and scowled again. _God she pisses me off!_ Finally, the brunette stood up. "I need to get some air. I trust _you_ can take care of him." _Might as well make her feel useful._

"Yes." Subaru nodded, smiling. Mimiru strode over to the door and reached for the doorknob, but the door swung open wildly and nearly hit her in the face.

"WHAT THE HELL?" Mimiru screeched as Faith leapt into the room, clutching a bouquet of flowers. "What… are you doing here?"

"Hi-hi, Mimi-chan!" Faith bounded past the first empty bed and entered Tsukasa's side of the room. Mimiru was forced to whirl around and follow the hyper girl. "Eh? Who are you?" The dark-haired girl pointed at Subaru.

"Hello." Subaru stood up and extended her hand to Faith. "My name is Subaru. What's yours?" Faith cocked her head to one side and slowly took Subaru's hand. She then pumped it up and down rapidly. "Ow…" Subaru muttered as Faith finally released her hand.

"I'm Faith and I'm here with my family!" Faith threw the bouquet of flowers onto the table next to Tsukasa's bed. She then chose to dive right on top of Tsukasa, hugging the boy around the waist and pressing her head to his chest. "Kasa-kun! Wake up, Kasa-kun!"

"K-Kasa-kun?" Mimiru could only watch in shock as Faith continued shouting in her loud, sing-song voice. "Oi, get off him! He needs his rest!"

"But Helba said that he was fully healed." Faith turned to Mimiru, pouting. Mimiru's eyes widened in shock and Subaru looked at the brunette, completely confused. "Nee, nee, Crim-itoko, Sora-niisan, Helba, and even Balmung-warui are coming here! It'll be like a big family reunion!"

"WHAT?" Mimiru exploded, grabbing Faith by the back of her shirt and prying her off Tsukasa. She threw the overexcited girl onto Subaru's empty seat. "Explain yourself. Now."

"Oh… umm… BT-neechan drove here… and as soon as she reached the entrance, I flung myself out of the trunk and ran all the way here!" Faith grinned widely, spreading her arms wide. "So… they should be here any minute now. Except BT-neechan, cuz she had to grade some papers."

"And Helba's with them?" Mimiru asked disbelievingly.

"Yup, yup!" Faith nodded her big head and turned to Tsukasa. "But Helba didn't say that Kasa-kun would still be sleepy."

"Why is this Helba the only person you don't refer to as family?" Subaru asked curiously and Mimiru looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"Because… Helba is in a class of her own." Faith said mysteriously. She then jumped forward and slapped Mimiru across the face.

"What was that for?" Mimiru was about to hit Faith back, but then saw the large grin on the girl's face. _She must have some odd reason for doing it…_ "Okay, what is your psychotic head cooking up now?"

"Yay! Now we're engaged!" Faith jumped onto Mimiru and the brunette was forced to hold her. She gave Mimiru a huge smooch on the cheek.

"WHAT?" Mimiru was beyond livid at this point. Subaru started laughing and tried to cover her mouth with her hand. She couldn't control herself and burst into a fit of giggles. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU LAUGHING AT?"

"In a place, very, very, very far from here-you have to get flushed down a toilet or come into contact with water to reach it- called Shin Makoku it's a custom to slap someone across the cheek so you can get engaged!" Faith squealed happily, wrapping her arms around Mimiru's neck.

"I don't _WANT_ to be engaged to you!" Mimiru was seething. _Wherever the hell this Shin Makoku is, it's not here_! "We're in Japan! Their customs _don't_ apply to us!" Faith bounded off Mimiru with the grace of an eagle.

"Shibuya Yuri, Harajuku Furi!" Faith chanted happily as she began dancing about the room. It was a miracle Tsukasa didn't wake up.

"I see Faith found the room safe and sound." Crim, in all of his spiky-haired blue glory, strolled into the room. "Sorry if she caused any trouble."

"We're engaged." Mimiru said flatly and Subaru giggled at this. As the brunette was glaring at her rival, Sora and Balmung sauntered into the room. Sora was carrying a bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped, red box, most likely full of chocolate. Balmung was lugging a cute, white teddy bear wearing a blue T-shirt that proclaimed "GET WELL" in bright green letters.

"Shibuya Yuri, Harajuku Furi!" Faith continued, completely disregarding the fact that her cousin was in the room. Or maybe she was too caught up in her own happiness to notice anything.

Balmung, with a disgusted look on his face, walked straight past the girl and flung the bear onto the table, next to Faith's flowers. "You should have seen his face throughout the car ride!" Sora jumped up and down with glee, slinking over to Subaru. "And who are you, my pretty?"

Subaru blushed and backed away, looking at Mimiru for help. Mimiru couldn't help but feel bad for the pathetically shy girl and walked over to them. She placed her arm around Subaru's shoulders and drew the girl closer to her.

"Her name is Subaru and she's feeling just a _TAD_ overwhelmed because all these _strange_ people just burst into her _boyfriend's_ room!" Mimiru blew up and all the antics ceased. "Do you people have any manners? Tsukasa is trying to sleep!"

"Actually, I'm up now Mimiru." A tiny voice said from behind Mimiru and she whirled around, turning Subaru's body as well. Without a doubt, Tsukasa was awake and sitting up in bed his bed, with an amused smile on his face.

"GET THE HELL BACK TO SLEEP!" Mimiru bellowed, her free hand ready to smack the stupid boy. Faith shook her head at this.

"Mimiru, why don't you sit down?" Subaru shrugged off the brunette's arms and gently pushed Mimiru down into the seat near Tsukasa's bed. Mimiru growled, but willingly sat down and crossed her arms over her chest crossly. "Now then, everyone, please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Subaru." She gestured to Sora. "What is your name?"

"I'm Sora." Sora pointed to himself, his green bangs swaying about. He then wandered over to Crim. "This is my boyfriend, Crim."

"Nice to meet you, Subaru." Crim smiled gently at her. "Once again, I apologize for all this. We didn't mean to wake Tsukasa up."

Sora then crept over to Balmung, who had seated himself in the chair nearest the window, away from everyone. "The sourpuss is Balmung. He doesn't want to be here, but Helba threatened him." He grinned happily as Faith stuck her tongue out at Balmung. She began twirling about the room again.

Balmung shoved Sora away from him and the green-haired man retreated to the safety of his boyfriend. "Faith, sit down at the foot of Tsukasa's bed." Crim ordered sternly and Faith obeyed, pouting slightly.

"Where _is_ Helba?" Mimiru broke the uneasy silence.

"Who cares?" Balmung surprisingly answered, staring darkly out the window, much like Mimiru had been a while ago. Crim let out a small sigh.

"You rang?" Helba herself strolled into the room, holding a small child by the hand. Mimiru froze. It was as if the devil had walked into the room. The small child was a girl with long, wispy, curled, white hair and eerie, purple eyes. She was wearing a white dress with frills at the bottom that reached her ankles.

"Who is that?" Crim frowned at the girl. "I hope you didn't kidnap her…" Faith's jumped up and crawled as fast as she could to Tsukasa's side. She grasped him by the waist once again and buried her face into his chest, quivering in fear.

"Hey, hey, what's wrong?" Tsukasa stroked Faith's black hair. Balmung narrowed his eyes at the girl and Sora inched even closer to his lover.

"Aura? What are you doing here?" Of all people, Subaru stepped forward and knelt down so that she was face-to-face with the girl.

_She knows that little demon? How?_ Mimiru screamed inside of her head. The brunette couldn't remember a time when she had been so scared. The girl seemed to emit chaos and destruction. She was surprised the sky hadn't turned black at her fatal appearance.

Tsukasa found himself mesmerized by Aura's pools of purple, so much like his own. They were empty, impassive, but they held implicit insight. Aura's eyes pierced right into his very soul and he felt very exposed, as if he was naked.

"I found her wandering around in the halls, calling for Tsukasa." Helba said simply, letting go of Aura's hand. Subaru picked Aura and scolded her for walking around alone. "I figured you being her cousin, had mentioned Tsukasa to her."

Subaru, still holding Aura, backed away from Helba. "How did you know that? My uncle _just_ adopted her." The blue-haired girl stared suspiciously at Helba. "I don't know who you are… but I don't want you around my cousin anymore!" Subaru turned to Tsukasa. "I'm sorry, Tsukasa, but I have to bring Aura back to my uncle. I'll stop by your house tomorrow, okay?"

"Tsukasa…" Aura mumbled softly, but the entire room heard her. No one said anything. "Tsukasa…" Mimiru felt a new wave of fear wash over her. Aura's voice was delicate and innocent, but still so ominous. There was darkness behind her explicit purity.

Tsukasa felt Faith shiver even more against him, and with good reason. "Goodbye, Aura." Helba said firmly and the girl turned her head to look at the enigmatic woman. Aura simply nodded her head and rested it against Subaru's chest. Subaru briskly walked out of the room and shut the door behind her. All was silent, except for the sound of Faith's quivering body.

"O-kay… was anyone else _MAJORLY_ freaked out about her?" Sora finally broke the troubled silence, earning him a smack in the back of the head. Faith finally let go of Tsukasa and crawled back to the foot of the bed, sitting up.

Mimiru's eyes widened. _That was "her". She was the one!_ The brunette turned to Helba, only to see the woman nod her head in agreement. _What does she want with Tsukasa? Is Subaru in danger? Does she even know how dangerous her new "cousin" is?_ One more question haunted Mimiru's mind: Why was Faith so scared of Aura? Helba said a quick goodbye to everyone and departed.

"Well, I think we've spent enough time here." Crim gave Tsukasa a small smile. "I hope you feel better."

"Thank you!" Tsukasa bowed his head quickly. Sora sloped over and gave him a loving smack on the back. "Ow…"

"Be gentle!" Mimiru snapped, standing up and yanking Sora's green hair.

"Ah, such a protective lass she is." Sora grinned widely and winked at Tsukasa. "You'll be better in no time. If not, she'll probably kill you." Mimiru growled at Sora and he leapt back into the protection of Crim.

"I hope you like the flowers." Faith jumped off the bed and gave Tsukasa a lop-sided smile. It was obvious she was still unnerved by Aura's appearance. Balmung stood up, fixed his icy gaze on Mimiru for a moment, and then walked out of the room. "Sorry, Kasa-kun… he meant to say goodbye but he's a jerk."

_What the hell was that?_ Mimiru scowled crossly. _And he didn't even say goodbye to Tsukasa!_ She stalked out of the room, turned right, and almost crashed right into Balmung's chest. The brunette gulped and backed away slightly, a light blush on her cheeks.

Balmung raised an eyebrow at her, clearly waiting for an explanation. "I-I just came here to say that you should've said goodbye to Tsukasa! You're nothing but a rude jerk!" Mimiru shouted at the top of her lungs, her hands clenched into fists. _Wow… great one "Mimi-chan"._ She mocked herself.

"I see." Balmung crossed his arms over his chest, looking down at her. Mimiru found herself spellbound by his eyes. The first time she saw him, she thought they were green. But they actually seemed to be a mix of green and gray.

Mimiru couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something about Balmung's eyes that she liked. Maybe because she couldn't figure out what color they were. Maybe because for once, his eyes didn't seem as cold as she looked up into them. _Hey… is there some blue in there, too?_

Balmung frowned slightly. Usually, when women stared at him, there was nothing but lust, pathetic adoration, and borderline obsession in them. Usually, when women stared at him, he got annoyed and snapped at them. Usually, when women stared at him, it never lasted too long.

But Mimiru was different. To his dismay, Balmung found her turquoise eyes just as interesting as she found his… eyes. There wasn't any hunger, worship, or fixation in hers, just innocent curiosity that… didn't annoy him. But then, a slight cough broke their timeless moment.

Mimiru jumped a mile and whirled around, only to see Crim standing in the doorway with a small smile on his face. "It's a good thing Sora and Faith are still inside, or else you'd never hear the end of it." The blue-haired man said simply and walked off down the hallway.

Mimiru let out a squeal of surprise and covered her hands with her mouth. Balmung, just as surprised as she, simply followed Crim without saying a word. The brunette slowly stumbled back into Tsukasa's room, barely noticing as Faith and Sora passed her, skipping out of the room.

Mimiru sat down on the bed next to Tsukasa and let out a long sigh. "What the hell was that?" She groaned and fell back onto the bed so that she was lying across Tsukasa's stomach.

"Mimiru, are you okay?" Tsukasa leaned forward, his silver hair falling with him. He watched as the brunette let out one sigh after another. He knew not to complain of his newly acquired weight, because for one thing, Mimiru was his best friend and she didn't weight that much more than him.

"No, I'm not okay!" Mimiru sat back up rapidly, almost falling out of the bed. "That stupid, stupid, STUPID Balmung- I hate him!"

"If you're chosen to be their new lead singer, then you'll have to get used to him." Tsukasa pointed out, which only made Mimiru even madder.

"NOT HELPING!" Mimiru shouted crossly at him, standing up. "I should leave you here!" _Grrrr… stupid, stupid, stupid BOYS!_

"Mimiru…" Tsukasa sounded so dejected and broken that Mimiru instantly felt guilty, although she would _never_ admit it.

"Ch, like I can actually leave. Your precious girlfriend would cut off my head with an axe if I left you here." Mimiru sat down in the chair instead, facing Tsukasa.

"Why don't you call her 'Subaru'?" Tsukasa asked curiously.

"Why can't you mind your own business?" Mimiru shot back, growing angrier by the second. Tsukasa smiled sadly and looked away. _Okay… time to salvage whatever's left of our friendship after I completely bitched at him._ "I'm sorry Tsukasa… it's just that Balmung confuses me a lot. I shouldn't have taken it out on you. I mean… why can't he act like a normal person?"

"I don't know, Mimiru. But you deal with Motoki and me, so he can't be that much worse." Tsukasa joked lightly and was rewarded with a smile from Mimiru. "See? As long as you keep smiling, Balmung can't get to you."

"Yeah… you're right." Mimiru stood up, suddenly encouraged, and shot her fists into the air. "Let's get out of here! There's a whole world to explore!"

"Uh… Mimiru? What are you talking about?" Tsukasa frowned. _Just what warped idea did I implant into her mind?_

"Just you and me, Tsukasa, we'll take 'em on!" Mimiru grinned widely. "There's got to be more of those monsters out there, right? Plus, that Aura girl is after you. The only way we can assure that we'll live is if I practice with my sword."

"W-wait a minute, wasn't that just a dream? And besides, even if it is real, we shouldn't go looking for trouble!" Tsukasa protested nervously.

"Should we wait for another monster to come and try to murder you?" Mimiru smirked down at Tsukasa. "It's time to test out our powers!"

"S-shouldn't we wait for Helba to help us?" Tsukasa persisted.

"How do we know Helba's not on Aura's side? Look, the only way we'll get anywhere is if we start investigating on our own." Mimiru rolled her eyes. "Don't you want to know who sent that monster after you? And how they knew it would scare you?" Tsukasa let out a long sigh, admitting defeat.

Mimiru ran over to the window and kicked it open with strength she didn't even know she had. "Let's go!" The brunette said excitedly as the wind ruffled her already messy hair. _I can't wait! Time to fight!_

"Out the window?" Tsukasa shrieked as Mimiru yanked the bed sheets off him. "Are you crazy?" Mimiru responded by grabbing him around the waist and picking him up out of the bed. "Mimiru- let me go! You're going to get us killed!" _Did Faith inject her with something while I wasn't looking?_

Mimiru set Tsukasa on the ground and chuckled. Tsukasa looked so cute like that, with his disheveled silver hair and his purple eyes, wide with confusion and fear. He was wearing the classic hospital garb, a white, short-sleeved cloth that went down to his ankles and white socks on his feet.

"Well… first we'll get you some clothes." Mimiru looked Tsukasa up and down until he blushed brightly.

"Black Rose." A sharp voice cut into Mimiru's antics. "What are you doing?" It was Helba, right on time.

"I think you know what I'm doing." Mimiru shot back at the air, smirking. "I'm sick and tired of _you_ being in control. It's time for Tsukasa and me to take back our lives."

"I see." Helba sounded amused. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

"I… er…" Mimiru hadn't the faintest idea and she turned to Tsukasa for support, which of course, he was always ready to give.

"It seems obvious that what happened back in the that realm of white wasn't a dream." Tsukasa said thoughtfully. "We aren't _normal_ humans; you taught us that much. But why are we being targeted? Why were we chosen? We'll never find the truth unless we seek it ourselves."

"You're going along with her willingly?" Helba asked, surprised.

"Yes. I trust Mimiru with my life." Tsukasa said firmly. "I will follow her everywhere." Mimiru smiled gratefully at Tsukasa, his words warming her heart.

"Very well then, I give you my blessing." Helba sounded satisfied.

"Ch, like we needed it." Mimiru rolled her eyes. Tsukasa shook his head at her and sighed. "So, Helba, any words of wisdom for us?"

"Your impulsive selfishness will do nothing but cause him harm." Helba said straightforwardly. "But it is that very impulsiveness that makes up your essence, so I have no desire to change it. Instead, I will aid you, so that you will not have to worry about protecting Kite during a battle."

"What do you mean?" Mimiru frowned, a bit confused. _First she insults me, then she takes it back, and now she's helping us? Mou, what a confusing woman…_

"I will bestow a Guardian upon Kite so that you will not be distracted by his frailty." Helba answered and a golden light appeared above Tsukasa's head.

"I'm not that weak… Am I?" Tsukasa cocked his head to one side, unaware of the light that was hovering above him. Mimiru gulped and pointed upward. Tsukasa looked up and let out a shocked yelp, his eyes partially blinded.

The golden light condensed into a circular shape and Mimiru saw a tint of orange in it. When the light stopped shrinking, it turned into a bulky, golden bracelet with black incisions, zigzags, and slashes all over it, in a decorative manner, of course. The bracelet floated down to Tsukasa's left wrist and attached itself to him. Mimiru's jaw dropped open as Tsukasa frantically tried to shake it off.

"Mimiru… it won't come off!" Tsukasa fruitlessly squirmed about. Mimiru gave Tsukasa an apologetic smile; she knew there was nothing she could do.

"Now, now, Kite, don't do that. The device on your wrist is called the Twilight Bracelet. It serves many useful purposes, including transporting you to the world you seek; a world where monsters will relentlessly pursue you.

"In that world, Kite, you will utilize that bracelet in order to protect yourself. Upon summoning your 'Guardian', your bracelet will transform into a monster that will passionately protect you with its life. However, this fact you must _always_ remember: while your Guardian protects you, you cannot escape back to the regular world. Think wisely about the times you choose to summon it." Helba warned Tsukasa sternly.

"I… I'll be careful." Tsukasa promised, nodding his head.

"Fight with honor, Black Rose." Helba advised the confused brunette. "I bequeath my blessing upon you." Mimiru and Tsukasa found themselves rising up into the air. Mimiru felt her body flying somewhere and she closed her eyes tightly.

* * *

**Yay! Another great chapter finished! Later on, you can look forward to Mimiru's and Tsukasa's adventures in (as Helba said) "That World". Look out for creepy creepers, vicious beasts, pandemonium, and hey- maybe _another_ character will be reunited with a sharp weapon capable of slicing a monster's head off!**

**Omg, omg! I just watched the new episode of The 4400 and I'm sooo impressed. It's a non-anime, supernatural TV show that I LOVE. (and occasionally obsess about). Yea, it was amazingly good. After I finish this, I'm going to go read some fanfiction. Tom & Diana FOREVER! Lol I'm such a loser...**


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